"Your Highness!" Sally exclaimed and stood from the carpeted floor when she saw Lauren walk out of the secret door of her room in the middle of the night. "You are back, finally! I had no idea what to do if you did not return!"
Lauren chuckled at her handmaiden and took off her cloak. "You are too anxious. Don't you trust me?"
Sally narrowed her eyes. "How can I trust you when there were countless nights that you promised to return but did not? My apologies if this would offend you, princess, but you are not trustworthy in that aspect."
Lauren just smiled because it was true, she had fooled Sally many times, and the poor girl was the one who always had to cover her up.
"What have you done this time?" Sally asked curiously while helping Lauren wear her nightdress.
"I met a knight who can help me." Though, Lauren wondered if Alec would take her offer. He only said that he would think about it, so a no was a possibility.
"I never recalled you talking about a man, Your Highness. Did you perhaps finally find a lover?"
A lover. Lauren smirked at how silly it sounded. She was too selfish to share her heart so she never had one.
"Hmm… it's a secret."
When Lauren was left alone in her room, she pondered how long it would take for Alec to come up with a decision. He asked to give him some time, but for sure this "some time" wouldn't take days, would it? She couldn't guess. But she hoped he would make up his mind soon because her so-called wedding was to happen in four days, and she didn't have the luxury of time to wait.
The following day, Lauren planned to just lock herself in her room like she had been doing for the past three days since she wasn't allowed to leave the palace, but unfortunately, she was summoned by the King during dinner and she didn't have a choice but to go.
She sat next to Eloise and Cassandra who looked very glad to see her gloomy face, while Queen Thalia who was sitting at the other side of the table, glanced at her with a calm expression. But she would bet, the old hag was silently rejoicing in her mind because the trash—as the Queen considered her—was finally leaving the palace.
She wondered what the Queen's reaction would be if she found out that she wouldn't be marrying the good-for-nothing Peterson Merriweather, but Alec Everston. That would only happen, of course, if Alec decided to accept her offer of marriage for convenience.
"Lauren does not seem to be feeling well, Papa. You shouldn't have forced her to come down," Eloise said in her usual sweet feminine voice, which would without a doubt, make anyone who didn't know her well think she was the most angelic lady in the town.
In terms of physical appearance, Lauren couldn't argue that her eldest sister had the softest features among the three of them. Eloise had a calm and gentle aura, the one who usually wore beige a dress or something close to white. She loved spurting nonsense like what she just did.
On the other hand, Cassandra was the opposite. Her features were sharp and on point. If Eloise had light blonde hair that almost looked white, hers was black. She loved killing people with her eyes, which she surely got from her mother. She was usually silent, acting like she didn't care about most things, but in truth, she loved doing things behind the curtains.
Casper, the youngest and the only boy, was born very sickly a lot of doctors were around him even on a normal day. Lauren didn't find his presence a threat when he was young and didn't dislike him like how she hated her sisters, until when he turned eight and almost fed her to his tiger. She also almost drowned when he pushed her to the lake at the back of the palace. Clearly, the boy was just as wicked as her mother and sisters. She didn't hate him enough to wish for his death, though. But it wasn't a secret in the palace that the boy became bedridden when he turned ten and was barely living.
"How thoughtful of you, Eloise," Lauren imitated her sister's gentle tone. "I appreciate your concern, but I can manage. Besides, Papa summoned me for our family dinner. There must be an important subject to discuss."
"Indeed there is," the King said.
Lauren looked at her father. It couldn't be about her marriage as it had already been discussed.
"In two days, the palace will host a ball to honor the soldiers who recently won the battle against the rebels at the border," announced the King as it had always been a part of Evardin's royal tradition to celebrate every battle we won. "King Sebastian's nephew, Lord Vincent, will be one of our guests, so I want things to go as smoothly as possible. He is a well-known vampire mage, and I think he is a potential husband for you, Eloise."
Lauren almost couldn't stop a chuckle. Fortunately, she managed to bite her tongue before she could make a sound. Eloise still noticed her little smirk though, but all she could do was glare.
"Cassandra, make sure to send an invitation personally to Lord Everston."
Lauren's brow twitched a bit at the name mentioned. She couldn't believe how her father was still pairing Cassandra with Alec Everston when all these years, the lord hadn't shown the slightest bit of interest to any of the ladies in town. Well, she wasn't actually paying attention to his life, but Vivian was so updated with every news in Evardin and she talked to her almost every day.
"And you, Lauren," the King's eyes drifted to her, and she was reminded again that they had identical eyes. She always hated how she got her bright blue eyes from her father. Her other siblings got Queen Thalia's brown eyes, while she was the only one who got their father's trademark. It was the reason why although most people admire her eyes, she never liked them the same way.
"The Merriweathers will be there, so I expect you to be on your best behavior. You better not do anything silly. Do you understand, Lauren?"
Like an obedient child, Lauren nodded. "I understand, Papa." Though at the back of her mind, she started thinking about how she could turn the tables and make the upcoming event to her advantage. Maybe she could devise an alternative plan in case Alec Everston would decline her offer.
She thought deeply while she ate.
But in the end, she couldn't think of another plan. It only meant Alec Everston was her best shot, and she could only hope he would hear from him soon.